The Institute of Customer Service has named Amazon as best in the UK for customer satisfaction.
Other top scorers include Specsavers and New Look.
According to the Index, competence of staff was the most important indicator for customer satisfaction. Competence over the phone was also valued, as well as staff simply doing what they say they will do.
“Core ingredients of excellent customer service – employee competence, attitudes and behaviour – have become even more significant differentiators,” said CEO of The Institute of Customer Service Jo Causon.
“Mass marketing or a ‘one size fits all‘ customer experience is delivering diminishing returns and diluting valuable customer relationships.
While the multi-channel environment demanded by customers has the potential to offer a faster more flexible service, it can also exacerbate problems if not done correctly.”
This was certainly the case for Argos, where ecommerce capabilities following Black Friday let customers down. As well as website closures, shoppers had to deal with late packages, and a customer help line that literally advised them to call later in the week.
“Challenger brands, often unencumbered by legacy systems and processes are gaining on their larger competitors by offering straightforward, personal, seamless and quick service experience,” Causon continued.
This is reshaping the competitive environment around customer service and removing barriers to entry to create a real opportunity for smaller organisations to succeed against larger rivals.”
Amazon became increasingly popular in 2015, introducing a number of new services designed to make deliveries quicker and easier for customers. Amazon ‘Prime Now‘ launched in London and Birmingham before spreading to Newcastle, whilst its grocery delivery service ‘Amazon Pantry‘ is set to grow rapidly in 2016. The site was also one of the most popular destinations during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
